Team Rocket's Apprentice
by Ryuuhou Kai
Summary: Rachel actually wanted to go to a normal job interview, but somehow she ended up in Team Rocket's hideout due to a stupid misunderstanding. And even worse, she has to work for them now. As the apprentice of Team Rocket she has to learn how to work as assistant with mad scientists and furious secretaries. Bringing coffee had never been that difficult for Rachel.
1. The Job Interview

**Finally I decided to write this down. I had the idea in my mind but never found the chance to actually write it. It's a little comedy story about Team Rocket. I always wanted to write something funny about them, something different from Hotaru no Hikari. **

**For some funny moments I took small ideas from 'The IT crowd'. And I wanted to give the TR characters more background and development. Especially some funny moments to show their work life. We've never seen that in the anime, and I had my own imagination for that. **

**If someone wants a specific character from Team Rocket to appear in this story, please tell me! (Game and Anime)**

**Please leave a review, I'm collecting them :)**

**Disclaimer for the whole story: I do not own Team Rocket and Pokemmon! They belong to the people who have created them! I only own my OCs!**

* * *

**Team Rocket's Apprentice**

**Chapter 1: The Job Interview**

It was never an action of desperation. In fact, Rachel was happy about her life and the tiny apartment she lived in. The move to Saffron City felt like it was the right step in the right direction. It was actually another step in the independence and it felt great. Since she always lived with someone together or shared an apartment, this felt like freedom, even though her current flat had only one tiny room and she had barely space to turn around. Having a guest in her home wasn't possible, they couldn't even turn around.

But it was a beginning. Rachel had saved her money for her plan long enough and now she had a new chance. The job interview for a place in the famous Silph Co. was only minutes away. After small jobs as waitress, cleaner and caterer, she finally had a chance to a better life. Head secretary in the company. It didn't sound that interesting but it was enough for the woman.

With a last brush through her hair, Rachel ended the procedure to get her hair under control. In a swift move she grabbed her lipstick and brushed the red color across her lips. The color peaked out on her spotless make-up. It wasn't too much but good enough for a job interview. "Perfect," Rachel mumbled to herself as she looked in the mirror. The woman ran her hand through her hazel brown hair again. It almost reached her shoulders and was as soft as silk. Thanks to her new shampoo.

"Hello," escaped the sound her throat. Rachel was about to stand up but suddenly all of her weight pushed her down to the chair again. A small red spot next to her nose caught her attention. "That's bad luck." A pimple had dared growing in her face. It almost screamed 'touch me', but Rachel kept her hands away from her face. She didn't want to make it worse. Normally, such a tiny thing would bother her and ruin her day, but now was not the time to curse.

Quickly, the woman collected all her documents she needed. Her CV, application, notebook and her handbag. A last brush across her skirt to get all wrinkles out of the fabric. Rachel grabbed her keys and prepared herself to leave. "I'm ready!" she took a deep breath and closed the door behind her.

Shortly after she left, the door opened again and Rachel rushed into the room. She took one last look in the mirror before she was finally able to leave.

Her CV was almost perfect and her description. Rachel Megan. 26 years of age. Aquarius. Born in Violet City, Johto. Good grades in high school. Had worked in two cafés and in a hotel in Azalea Town. And things she knew about herself: shoulder-long hazel hair. Green eyes. Single. Love for good food. Hates bad food. Hobbies: shopping, reading and talking to people. Lots of experiences in bringing coffee.

A work place in Silph Co. would be perfect. Not a long way to walk. Perfect connection with the subway, bus and the Silph Cooperation was one of the most famous companies in Kanto.

Just the imagination made Rachel smile.

* * *

"Good morning, Professor. The results have arrived today and the lab in Viridian City has accepted the examples. They said it could take one week to get the program finished," the secretary reported as she entered one of the main offices in the Silph Co. building. Her name was Wendy and she was the proud secretary of Team Rocket's base in Saffron City. Without her the organization was nothing. She had the most important work to do and that included reporting news, calling other bases, bringing the files and documents in order, and the most most most important work, nobody else was allowed to do, bringing the head scientists their coffee. Every. Single. Morning.

"Good," replied a scientist. Seemingly, he was in his late 30's or early 40's. He had jet black hair with a white streak that showed up on the left side, wore glasses and a white coat. "What about the new technology in Viridian City?" he asked, not in a mood to hear bad news.

Wendy shifted from leg to leg nervously. She knew it wasn't her fault but she, as the secretary, had to feel the consequences. There was always a person who had to be complained at, and usually it was the innocent and not guilty head secretary. "Well... I haven't received an answer yet."

The tension in the office grew silently. The scientist sighed slightly annoyed.

"Calm down, Sebastian. Since we gave them the blueprints last week, it will certainly take a while," said another scientist. He was obviously older, had white hair, a long white lab coat and wore a monocle on his left eye. As to make his colleague angry, he reached for the cup of coffee and took a sip in silence and inner peace.

"I will not disagree with you, Zager, but it won't change the situation. To mention it, where is the new head scientist they wanted to send to us? Our project has the highest priority at the moment," Sebastian asked as he turned to face the secretary. He turned back to his documents to work on them. It wasn't in his nature to look at people when they were talking. Just listening to them while filling in some documents saved a lot of precious time. In his opinion at least.

Again, the secretary hesitated with her answer. One bad message was already bad enough, and she knew the people she worked with very well to tell their impatience with answer or messages. "I have talked to the head quarters and they told me, that she had some difficulties on a project she was working on. But they promised me to send her to Saffron City as soon as possible," Wendy explained, heading for the door to leave this uncomfortable atmosphere.

"She?"

It was just another unnecessary question that prevented Wendy from her important work. "Yes, her name is Professor... Rachel... I think..is the head scientist in biology and engineering in Viridian City."

The awkward silence became worse. It was the right decision for Wendy to leave the office now.

"Please call them and ask them again. Since we need a specialist to solve the difficulties, we can't wait any longer," Sebastian mumbled, but cursed silently under his breath. Everyone knew, that 'difficulties' was a euphomism for 'problems', but it sounded less incompetent.

"Yes," Wendy replied and finally made her way to leave until a scratchy voice interrupted her.

"But on you're way, try to get some of the crunchy chocolate bars. I'm starving and I need energy to work," a third scientist told her. He hid his head behind some documents he was reading. Only an orange, bushy beard and bushy eyebrows stuck out.

"Of course, sir," Wendy sighed. The moment she had left the office and made sure that the door was closed, Wendy bit into her folder she had carried around the whole morning. Her rage overcame her and she clenched her teeth in anger. It was up to her to be responsible for everything. She had to manage everything and even had to deliver the damn coffee to the scientists! And then there was never a 'thank you' or 'well done'! They didn't care about her work. "Oh, where is the new scientist? Then she can bring them their stupid coffee!" the woman hissed as she made her way back to her desk.

* * *

Meanwhile in the entrance hall of the Silph Co. building.

Rachel waited impatiently for the woman at the reception. She tapped her finger in a constant speed on the desk and shifted from leg to leg. Her gaze wandered to the clock on the wall every five seconds until the secretary came back. She was and elder woman and took her time with her work. The receptionist finally mentioned Rachel to come. "Hello? How can I help you?" the woman asked.

"My name is Rachel Megan and I have a job interview in the Silph Co. now. I'm a little late because the subway came too late," she explained hastily. The woman had to admit it. She was nervous. Really nervous.

The old receptionist searched in her notebook for the correct information. "Yes. Someone is already waiting for you. Tenth floor in the conference room," she told her.

"Great, thank you." Rachel rushed past the reception and dashed into the elevator before the doors closed. She pressed the button for the tenth floor and waited.

The feeling of taking the lift pushed down on ber stomach. She couldn't even tell whether it was her nervousness or the lift. Rachel stared at the screen that showed the current floor, for her it took endless time.

Suddenly, the elevator stopped. Much to Rachel's misfortune. The doors opened and a woman with green hair hopped inside, she almost violated the button for the eleventh floor with her free hand. She held a bunch of papers, documents and folders in her hand and struggled not to lose them. Silently, the woman cursed under her breath.

Rachel became even more nervous and chewed on her inner lip.

As the green-haired secretary lost one of the papers, Rachel quickly picked it up for her.

"Thank you," Wendy said. The fact that a strange woman helped her more than her own work colleagues bothered her. "I've never seen you before. Can I help you?" Wendy asked.

"Eh, no. I'm here for a job and..." Rachel asked but got cut off.

"May I ask for your name?" Wendy interrupted.

"Rachel Megan," the woman replied.

Wendy sighed in relief. "Oh, thank god. We were waiting for you all the time. There are some difficulties that need to be solved. Great that you came today. We have no time to lose," the secretary explained.

Somehow Rachel didn't really understand her. She was here for a job interview, wasn't she? Why would they need someone new to solve some difficulties or problems in a company she had never worked for before? It became even weirder when Wendy stopped her from going to the tenth floor. Wasn't she supposed to have a job interview first before she started to work? Or maybe the receptionist had made a mistake.

As the lift stopped at the eleventh floor, Wendy shoved Rachel out of the lift and literally dragged her along a corridor. "Hurry. The others are already waiting for you, the green-haired secretary dragged her along.

"Eh... shouldn't I have the job interview first?" Rachel asked her quite unsure.

Wendy threw a confused glance at the woman. "There is no need for that. I assume somebody in your rank has all the knowledge to work with our head scientists without any problems. But I am impressed of your age. The Viridian Base said you are one of the best scientists there." The secretary eyed her from head to toe. It was a little strange for her. The most people she worked with had reached a specific age in their ranks. Someone as young as Rachel was a rare sight. She quickly lead her to a big office with four workplaces. One was tidy and clean, the second therefore looked chaotic and... dirty. And the third... too many books and documents to tell whether it was clean or not. "Well, this is your new workplace" she said, pointing at the desk in the left corner.

Rachel's jaw dropped. This was a dream, wasn't it? An own desk with pc, enough place to work and close to a window, what meant enough light. It was so neat, so clean... so awesome. She walked around and simply could not believe it. Was that only luck that brought her to this place? The woman stumbled through the office and walked in circles around her work place. She still couldn't believe it. But what was the thing with the scientist? Somehow, Rachel's gut feeling appeared again.

"Here," Wendy threw a white lab coat at Rachel and helped her to slip into the sleeves. "Hurry, they are already waiting for us. Leave your documents-"

Suddenly, the door to the office opened, and three, very strict-looking, scientists entered. One of them had jet black hair that contained a single white streak and a goatee, the second scientist had orange bushy hair and a mustache, and the third scientists wore a monocle and had white hair. Somehow, they appearance let Rachel shiver.

"Perfect timing. This is Professor Rachel, she had just arrived," said Wendy and shoved Rachel closer to the scientists. She instead left the office with one last sentence. "Good luck, Professor!"

The woman earned some very strange gazes. They contained a mix of disbelief, anger and somehow, she had described it as jealousy? It didn't make her feel comfortable, in fact, it scared her. At the other hand, Rachel's presence made the scientists feel much older, like old grandpas. The woman seemed even younger than Wendy.  
How was she supposed to be a Professor at her age? What did she do to earn this state? This reputation? And since when had Team Rocket teenagers as head scientists? Wasn't she supposed to be in their age at least? All these kinds of questions flew around in the scientists' heads. And with a short glance, they shared their thoughts.

"Well...eh, hello," stuttered Rachel. She forced herself to be friendly and polite.

"That's a joke," replied the shortest of the scientists, totally ignoring her. It was the man with the bushy, orange hair. "How old are you?" he asked her in a strict tone.

Stuttering, Rachel tried to give an answer. "Eh, twenty-six," she replied to his question.

The tension in the room grew. It could be cut with a knife already. Literally. The scientists looked at each other in disbelief with open mouths. "And why do you think you are here?" Professor Sebastian asked her very suspiciously. He wondered about her age. Especially her age. Someone as young as her was able to work with him, the head scientist from the Johto region, together? What sort of offense was that? Did Team Rocket intend to make a fool out of him?

Rachel came to the point directly. "Working? I'm here for a job?" It sounded more like a question than an explanation. And it wasn't even a lie. It was only the truth.

It wasn't what the scientists expected, but they felt the strange feeling as well. Something was wrong, but no one did a move to ask. Even the three Rocket scientists wanted to be polite and didn't ask anymore. Mentioning to follow them, Professor Zager went to the door, intending to leave the office. "Well then, welcome, Professor... Rachel was it?"

Rachel nodded. "Yes, thank you...ehm..." she started.

"Doctor Zager. Let me introduce you to your other colleagues. This is Doctor Numba."

"It's Namba," the shortest of the men hissed.

"And this is Professor Sebastian, he will be your supervisor until you are familiar with the work here and the technology," Doctor Zager explained.

Professor Sebastian was the person who scared Rachel most. His gaze hit her like an arrow and literally screamed 'You don't belong here!'. He even refused to say something to her. He was that type of person you would always avoid to meet. In Rachel's opinion. All that lowered her 'great-workplace-scale' to zero, though she had a beautiful office. But here came the next point. Her place in the office was the brightest, she had enough sun and more space than the others. And assuming from their looks, they were kind of angry at her.

Rachel gulped deeply as a strong shudder met her spine. That was even stranger for her. Scientists? Technology? No secretary work? And no job interview? And what was that with her lab coat? How weird... perhaps she should say something and ask about her actual job offer, but she didn't want to get the scientists on their nerves after the rough introduction.

It was an action of desperation, to clear that negative mood in the room. "Well, shall we go? There is a lot of work to do." Finally, Zager left the office, followed by his colleagues. The last person who left the room was Rachel, and simply the gesture gave her the feeling of not being accepted.

The walk was through a corridor, it seemed endless. Rachel followed the scientists quietly, she didn't dare saying anything. Maybe it wasn't the perfect workplace for her.

As they walked around a corner, the end of the gangway was a huge glass door. It had no doorknob, no handle, nothing. Only an electric lock on the side. Doctor Zager pulled out a card with a magnetic stripe and scanned it with the lock. The door opened and showed the room behind. It was a cold, sterile lab with lots of computers, screens and some kind of scary devices. On the right side of the room were some desks and shelves, but it made it even scarier. Rachel gulped, her jaw almost dropped. She followed the scientists inside, because she had no other choice. "Wh...what is that..." she asked silently.

Her question only earned more confused looks. The scientists turned to face her. "The main lab of the Saffron City headquarter, as you should know." Doctor Namba went to one of the shelves and picked some documents with formulae and whatnot. Something that Rachel definitely couldn't read.

"And that?" Rachel asked, pointing at one of the robotic devices. It looked like a huge weapon to her. Suddenly, the woman shrieked and twitched as the door closed behind her. She felt like a lab rat, caught in the lab.

"I expected that you were introduced to the technology before you came here. Such a pity. It's a system that allows us to transport Pokémon from their Pokeballs directly to this machine without the trainers noticing it. Though, it only works in a specific range, and we still have difficulties to analyse the code for Pokeballs," Professor Sebastian explained, rather hissing.

Rachel suddenly felt herself becoming sick. "Isn't that...stealing?" she mumbled.

It was another question that made the scientists suspicious. "In other words, yes. That's what we are paid for," Namba snickered in a mocking way. "So, Professor, what do you suggest? Since you are specialiyed in wave -and frequency technology."

Slowly, Rachel understood that she was in a completely wrong place. That was never the job she had to do, right? And what about the technology? "That was never in my job description," Rachel stuttered.

"What?" asked Professor Sebastian as he arched an eyebrow.

"I don't understand this! Shouldn't we have a job interview first? And I have no idea about scientific work. My job description said nothing about all this! I am supposed to do paper work and call people," she explained.

The scientists stared at her and stepped closer to the young woman. "Wait, we received a message that the new head scientist would come from the HQ in Viridian City. Professor Rachel, what is this supposed to mean?" asked Sebastian and stepped right in front of her, causing her to duck.

Drops of sweat covered the young woman's forehead. She could ask the same question. "I don't know. And why are you calling me 'Professor'? What is all this here? That's not the Silph Co!" The confusion increased from second to second. Either it was just a big misunderstanding, or Rachel had applied for the wrong job.

"Indeed, this is the Team Rocket headquarter in Saffron City. And you are in the middle of the science and technology research department," replied Doctor Zager.

Team Rocket. Team Rocket... Wasn't that the organization Rachel had heard of so much? In the news? Newspaper? The organization that only caused trouble in Kanto and Johto? The organization that stole Pokémon, sold them on the black market, and experimented on them? The criminal organization!? That Team Rocket?! And Rachel stood right in front of three of Team Rocket's head scientists in a middle of the lab? "Holy Arceus..." mumbled Rachel, suddenly feeling very dizzy. She glanced over her shoulder to the door that was locked, there was no way out. But how did this happen? How did she end up here? It didn't matter. She had to get out. Fast! And call the police! Fast!

Professor Sebastian sighed. Before he was able to ask her another question, the door opened and Wendy interrupted him. She carried some papers with her and was quite nervous. "I'm sorry, but I received a call from the Viridian base. They told me that Professor Rachel had to stay in Viridian City due to some unwanted problems she has to solve. I told them, that Professor Rachel has arrived today, and they laughed at me," she told them.

The moment came, when all gazes were directed at the young woman. It was an icy and nightmare-like atmosphere.

"May I ask for you name again?" Doctor Namba asked the young woman.

"Rachel Megan," Rachel replied instantly.

Wendy raised one eyebrow. "That's weird. That's exactly the name of the head scientist, Rachel Me-" suddenly, she gagged. Her left eyelid twitched as she looked at her papers again.

The scientist with the goatee and the glasses narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "What is it, Wendy?" he asked.

The secretary looked up again. She had to admit that she had done a fatal mistake. "The scientist's name is Rachel... M-M...Morgan. Not Megan," she stuttered.

Rachel bit her tongue. She sneaked around the scientists to the door, but got caught by Team Rocket's gazes. It was a pitiful attempt to open the door, because she had no idea how to open it. And she had no magnetic card for the lock. Slowly, Rachel turned to face the scientists and the Rocket secretary. She gulped, because she suspected a lot of trouble.

* * *

"For the last time. I had no idea! That woman just pushed me into this place! I had no idea it was the HQ of Team Rocket!" Rachel explained and dug her fingers in her hair frustrated. She lowered her head.  
After half an hour of discussing, explaining and arguing, she was still at the same spot like before. Rachel was kept in the office where she had met the scientists before, she sat on a small couch in the corner and tried to explain everything. She was not guilty! It was only a big misunderstanding. The glares of Professor Sebastian and Doctor Namba hit her and made the atmosphere even worse. It didn't help her at all.

With a sigh, Sebastian clearly showed his annoyance. "And you had the intention to apply for a job as secretary?" he asked.

"Yes. For the Silph Co! And then I ended up here," Rachel whined in frustration. She was at the edge of a mental collapse and just wanted to disappear. Team Rocket kept her in that office, and she had to argue with the two head scientists Professor Sebastian and Doctor Namba to come to a conclusion. Their gazes hit Rachel and made her feel even worse. The atmosphere in the room was horrible.

"You said Wendy brought you to us?" asked Namba.

Rachel rolled her eyes and slightly face-palmed her forehead. It was now the twentieth time that she had told them the story. "Yes. She asked me for my name and I answered, then she suddenly exclaimed that she knows me and we have to hurry. That's how I ended up here. I had no idea that it was Team Rocket's headquarter! I am not a spy or anything, I'm just a regular normal woman looking for a job!" At this point Rachel nearly cried. She was exhausted and just wanted to go home, she wanted to forget everything. It wasn't even that she wanted to go to the police anymore. She. Just. Wanted. To. Go. Another sigh escaped her lips and her head fell in the palms of her hands.

It was the moment Doctor Zager re-entered the office with a paper cup filled with hot coffee in his hand. He hand the cup to Rachel who took it gratefully. At least one person in this godforsaken building was nice to her and didn't blame her for a mistake she hasn't even done. "Here. Stress doesn't help at all right now," the man said.

Thank you," Rachel mumbled before she took a small sip.

"Well, try to explain it again, how did you end up here?" Namba's question was as useless as stupid, because he already heard the answer a thousand times.

Rachel almost spat out the brown drink. She swallowed it and jumped to her feet, it was quite hilarious. "For the last time! That woman had made a mistake. I just said I am Rachel Megan, and she suddenly dragged me to this freaking office! I don't want to know anything about Team Rocket, and I would never interfere! Please, just let me go. I won't even tell anyone!" It was a pitiful begging and soon turned into sobbing. "I will do everything!"

The scientists all shared a suspicious gaze and stared at Rachel again. "I'm afraid that we can't do that, you've seen too much." Sebastian's answer was clear and harsh, it made Rachel squeal. Suddenly, he turned to face his colleagues. "But what are we supposed to do? We can't just lock her away and let her starve. And for our tests she would never give a good subject."

The woman was now breathing heavily, her face became pale like chalk. Bad thoughts came into her mind, horror thoughts, thoughts and pictures you would only see in a nightmare. It made her feel very sick out of all sudden.

"The solution for this problem may be simple, but isn't it obvious? She cannot leave anymore, but she was looking for a job. Wasn't Wendy complaining that she had to do all the office work by herself? What about sending Wendy _her _as help_. _That would save all of us a lot of trouble." Doctor Zager smiled after his suggestion. Finally a somehow good suggestion that didn't make Rachel want to vomit. But there was still the problem. Rachel? Working for a criminal organization? For Team Rocket? Somehow, she had imagined her first day of work different. But everything was better than being locked up and starve to death.

Suddenly, the door opened again and Wendy entered the office. Judging from the expression she carried on her face, she was the one who had to suffer all consequences for that stupid fault. "I called the main base. They laughed at me and hung up. Did you already found a solution for our problem, professor?" the woman asked and gestured at Rachel at the last part of her sentence.

Professor Sebastian kept quiet and crossed his arms. Obviously, he didn't agree t Zager's idea, but Doctor Zager interrupted his thoughts again. "Yes, I think we found a new assistant for you. As long as we still don't know what to do with the girl, she can help you with the paper work."

Wendy's jaw almost dropped to the ground in disbelief. She stared at Rachel, then at Zager, then at Namba and Sebastian who simply shrugged.

"But what shall we do with the new technologies? Since there is another head scientist missing, we can't work sufficiently." Professor Sebastian gazed at the woman for a short moment before he spoke again. "You. Do you have any certificates or practice with pokemonistic science, pokemon biology or physics?"

The question was ridiculous in Rachel's eyes. If she had such abilities or talents, would she honestly work as a normal secretary? Stupid question. "Well, I had an A in biology in highschool."

It was the perfect moment for a giant face-palm, but the scientists supressed to show their annoyance. The atmosphere in the room was already thick enough to cut it with a knife. Any kind of comment would have made it even worse.

"Well, do you know how to work on your own?" Namba hissed at the woman.

"Yes."

"What about any kinds of recommendations? Are you specialized in something?" Doctor Zager didn't hesitate to ask.

"Ehm, well, calling people and checking mails..." Rachel mumbled.

Now she had done it. even Wendy couldn't stop chuckling anymore. She just touched her forehead and shook her head in disappointment.

"Oh and I can bring coffee," Rachel added proudly, hopping to make the situation bit better.

The Rocket scientists had heard enough. More explanations or questions weren't useful anymore. Doctor Zager simply clapped his hands together. "Good, you got the job. Welcome in Team Rocket," he chirped.

Rachel forced herself to smile, but actually she wanted to cry as she saw Wendy's look and hatred, Professor Namba's heavy breathing and Professor Sebastian's glare in annoyance. She already knew, working here would be like a nightmare. A never-ending nightmare...


	2. First Day Of Work

**Chapter 2: First Day of Work  
**

Rachel combed her hair and a sigh escaped her lips as she looked in the mirror. It was her first day of work and it started in a horror-like way. It all started when Team Rocket had decided to keep Rachel under their control. They had given her a small room with bathroom, but what was Rachel supposed to do without anything? No clothes to change! No make-up, except of the emergency make-up she always kept in her handbag. No fresh underwea...yeah, well...and no towels. And again, she couldn't change her clothes, she couldn't relax, but the first thing bothered her most and she hated it. Her hair looked somewhat messy and the dark rings under her eyes proved a night without sleep.

It was an action of frustration that she slammed the hairbrush onto the table in her room, and with another sigh she left the room. Now, the moment of the first challenge came. The first day of work in a Rocket HQ, just surrounded by mean agents, furious secretaries and crazy scientists. How was Rachel supposed to survive this? And more important, how would she find back to Wendy's office? _Great, Rachel, just great... If I come too late they will lock me in the basement for sure..._ she thought. _Or in a dark cell..._

Her heart was pounding fastly as she walked down the corridor. The artificial light nearly blinded her due to the light bulbs that created a light which was way too bright. Or she was just nervous. The second option was the more realistic one, since the signs were obvious. Her shaking hands for example. Or her constant gulping. Or the sweat covering her forehead. The trance she was in almost let her walk against the wall, but she avoided that case. But she suddenly noticed that she walked down the wrong corridor. The lift was somewhere else.

* * *

"Where is she?" Wendy hissed through her teeth and tapped her fingers on the folders which had to be delivered to the main laboratory as fast as possible. "Her first day and she is already late." The angry secretary sprinted to her desk and looked at the clock on her computer screen. Rachel was already ten minutes too late, and Wendy had to feel the concequenses for sure. "I swear to the boss, I will..." before she could even end her statement, the door opened and Rachel dared a quick glance at Wendy.

"Good...morning..." Rachel stuttered and entered the office. She slowly moved the door and tried to close it as quietly as possible.

"You are late," snapped Wendy as she crossed her arms over her chest.

With a gulp, Rachel straightened and bit her lip. "Well...yes...sorry..." She was nervously playing with some of her hair bangs, but Wendy remained unimpressed and angry. "I got lost and..." she stopped talking because it made no sense. Wendy was only glaring at her, and it didn't help Rachel at all. "Ehm...well...can I help you somehow with anything?" she asked shyly.

Wendy didn't respond, she simply walked to her desk, picked up a heavy bunch of papers and folders, went back to Rachel and handed them to her. Rachel gasped as the weight. "Yes, you can take them to Doctor Zager. He should be in his lab. Oh, and this as well," Wendy mumbled, grabbing another dark brown folder. "This is for Professor Sebastian. And tell him to complete the documents today, because I need them back to send them to the headquarters in Johto," Wendy continued, but interrupted Rachel who actually wanted to ask an important question. "Oh, yes, and these as well." Another shock came for Rachel as Wendy put a carton with three paper cups inside on the pile Rachel had to carry. "Coffee with milk and sugar for Professor Sebastian. A macchiato for Doctor Namba and coffee black only with sugar for Doctor Zager. Now you can go," the green-haired secretary ordered, pointing at the door.

Rachel gulp and felt her teeth clatter. Too much information, definitely to much information. "The...brown folder for Professor Nam- no...Sebastian and coffee...eh..." she stuttered, trying to remember the order and her actual task.

"Just take the coffee and the documents to the lab," Wendy hissed and went to her own desk again to actually do some work.

"Eh... ok..." Rachel stuttered. Slowly, she left the lab, but before she closed the door completely, she stuck her head into the office again. "Ehm..."

Before she could even start her question Wendy interrupted her, without looking at her. "The lab is down the corridor, then around the corner, third door on the right side," she hissed.

"Thanks..."

With that answer, the young woman left. With horrible thoughts and suspicions. What if she wouldn't remember the order of documents anymore, or worse, the coffee. What if would get cold? What a nightmare. _So, _Rachel thought, _how was that again? Along the corridor, third door on the left...no, right side..._ Nervousness could be seen in her face, well, only assuming from the sweat covering her forehead and her racing heart.  
She sighed as she walked through the building. She had always loved the sight from skyscrapers and she loved the view from her window, but she hated the atmosphere and her new colleagues. The thought made her shudder.

After a while, she reached her goal. Third door on the left, Lab A-2. But here came the next problem Rachel figured out. No door knob. Only a glass door, but she couldn't even see through it. How was she now supposed to open it? The only thing she saw was an electronic lock, which could be only opened with a magnetic ID card. It was the moment when Rachel noticed, that she had no such card. And with the heavy documents and the coffee in her hands the problems got worse. "Eh..." The word 'help' was written on her face with her own sweat.

She tried to look for a way to open it, but the chances were slim without a free hand or an ID card.

"Damn it... why is that such a stupid-" And suddenly while she was cursing like a sailor, the door opened. Her cursing stopped as soon as she stopped moving, because she was about to crash into someoneshe would rather not crash into.

"You're late," hissed Professor Sebastian. He looked down to her, though only one centimeter seperated them.

Rachel gulped, she had one of those famous deja vu experiences. She had heard that before. Okay, yes, she was very late and it didn't leave a good impression on her first day of work. _Damn it, why him? _Rachel though secretly. She tried to act normal and unimpressed and walked past him into the lab, though he followed her to keep an eye on her. "G..good morning," the woman stuttered and mumbled. The only people in the lab were Doctor Zager, Namba and Sebastian of course and everyone ignored her morning greetings. She just wanted to be nice and friendly! Was that so hard to accept? "Eh...I brought the documents.. and...and-eek!" Of course she was way too nervous and distracted to see the pile of files next to the lab shelf, and of course she stumbled over it. To her own luck, she had the files and the coffee cups she held in a very good grip, and again to her very luck, Professor Sebastian had remained standing next to her and caught her by her arm, preventing her to fall. "Th...tha...thanks..." she stuttered.

Rolling his eyes, the professor let out a sigh in disappointment. "Clumsy..." he mumbled under his breath. His gaze wandered to the pile of...well, now it was heap of documents, all scattered and out of order. Thanks to their new assistant.

"Sorry," muttered the woman and went to the desks quickly. She put the coffee cups on the desk. Now was the question, who got the macchiato, the coffee and the sugared coffee. _HELP MEEEE! _her mind screamed and panicked. With her hands she waved above the cups, trying to grab the right one. Drops of sweat rolled down to her chin. Her eyes were fixed at the cups. And suddenly, she gasped and squirmed as the professors took their own cups. That long time of waiting was unbearable for them.

Like a statue, Rachel was standing there, glaring at the desk, not even thinking about moving. Every wrong move could have meant her ruin. In fact, working for Team Rocket was a vocational ruin. What manager would like to see the sentence 'worked as secretary for Team Rocket' in a CV?

"Are you alright?" Doctor Zager asked, worried about the woman. She seemed to get sick any moment.

Slowly, Rachel shook her head, though her neck was as rigid as a board. "No...I want to throw up now..." she mumbled. Apparently, it was true. She had a very bad and nauseous feeling inside her stomach, as if the breakfast from a week ago would crawl up her gullet. Her face became all pale and green at the same time.

The atmosphere in the room increased her nausea. Like daggers hit the gazes of the scientists the young woman. She felt like daggers would hit her in her back.

"Maybe you should go back and sit for a bit. Or get some fresh air." At least Doctor Zager was somewhat nice to hear. After all she had experienced and gone through, she really needed some support.

Gulping, Rachel nodded while holding her hand on her mouth. "Thank-" Distracted from the gazes and her own imaginations, she accidentally tripped and stumbled over a computer cable that was laid across the room. Luckily, Rachel caught her balance again, but unfortunately, the cable got puled out of one of the computers. The only thing she heard was the sound of a computer shutting down. Without having saved any of the data.

The gazes became death glares and a quiet voice inside Rachel's head told her to run. To run and never come back. If possible change her name and live somewhere were people have never bee before. "I-I..I am so...sorry..." the woman stammered, frightened of the Rocket scientists.

"Outside." It was the only word from Professor Sebastian, though he didn't even turn his head away from the papers he was reading. And Doctor Zager simply shook his head. Meanwhile, Doctor Namba's head was glowing red in rage. It was obvious that it was his computer and his lost data, and now his job to write it all again.

"I..."

"Outside."

With a lowered head, Rachel left the lab in embarrassement. She felt so ashamed and so threatened here. She wasn't sure if she would survive her first day. She was caught in so many thoughts that the sound of the closing door made her jump. The woman felt like an captured outsider. So horrible. She wanted to cry. Now. Immediately.

Inside the lab the tension decreased, now that Rachel was out of view. "I think you are a little too strict. She is just nervous, because it is her first day here," Doctor Zager said, picking up his cup with coffee. He took a quick sip and put it back on his desk.

"Even so, she doesn't belong here. To speak frankly, I am afraid of letting her inside the lab again. She would probably destroy the rest of the equipment," said Professor Sebastian, quite uninterested in having a conversation with his colleagues now. He put his coffee cup on one of the shelves, not knowing that it wouldn't remain there for a single second.

In the same time, Rachel hit her head on the wall of the corridor in her frustration and despair. The impact was strong enough to push the cup off the shelf. To say it again, the cup was in the lab, and Rachel outside. She only felt the mother of all headaches coming up, and didn't know that the coffee of the cup spilled on several papers and documents on the tiny table next to the shelf. And the destruction in the lab was only the beginning.  
Professor Zager dashed out of the lab to see what had caused the cup to fall off the shelf. But he couldn't find any reason. Rachel was already gone, though she was the actual cause. "Strange," the doctor mumbled.

Slowly and dazed, Rachel went back to Wendy to report about the destruction of the lab. No, seriously, who would tell their boss about th problems one has caused? She just wanted to get away from the lab as fast as possible. The distance to the scientists comforted her for a good reason.  
Rachel somehow managed to open the door, even though she felt sick and weak, and slipped through the crack to enter the office again.

Wendy looked up and watched her for a short moment before she directed her focus towards the computer screen again. "You don't need to tell me that you failed bringing some cups of coffee to the professors. I can see it in your face," the woman mentioned. Well, she was right. Despair was written all over Rachel's face in cold sweat. "I guess you are useless as secretary," quickly, she added.

"No, please. Give me another chance! I will do anything you want! Please don't lock me in a cell," Rachel begged, nearly dropping to her knees.

After another short glance and the thoughts about possible damage, Wendy sighed. She put the papers away and now focused on Rachel. "Well, I have a job for you to do. It is simple enough, even for you. Go and clean the professors' office. It was the big one, one floor above."

"Eh..."

"Where you met them for the first time yesterday. Don't make me explain you the way again. Just go already. Oh, and don't mess it up this time," Wendy hissed, chasing her away by waving with her hand. It was her last sentence, and she desperately refused to talk to Rachel agian.

"Yes, ma'am," Rachel saluted (just to mention it, without any enthusiasm) and left again. How rude! Everyone just chased her away to get her out of their way.

On her way, she felt those cold shivers again. Like spikes digging into her spine. This inner voice tried to tell her something again. She only understood something like 'it will be a nightmare'. Of course, Rachel wished that it was only a stupid thought, but she knew her inner voice. The Rachel inside her that warned her about danger. And chaos. She shuddered again and wished to hide under a blanket now just like a frightened cat. "Well, it is only tidying up some documents and bringing them back in order. Don't worry, Rachel, you can do it. There is no doubt," she tried to calm herself. Talking to herself always helped her, but only if she was alone, and she was alone as she took the lift to the floor above. Not a single soul was in sight when she left the lift and searched for the way to the office. Apparently, she remembered the way to the big room. It was a good sign, hopefully. "You can do it, Rachel. Believe in yourself, you can do it. No problem, it is just a little bit of cleani-" the woman gasped as she opened the door to the office. Her throat dried out in shock.

"Oh shit..." the woman sqirmed.

The office was a mess. Documents lying around everywhere, crumpled papers covering the floor like a carpet and dusty books hiding the desks. Rachel felt like she would collapse any second. How was this even possible. Yesterday it was a normal office, and now it looked like a thunderbolt had hit it. Suddenly, Rachel felt dizzy and had to lean on the doorframe. Otherwise she would have collapsed. "Are they serious? I can't do this! I will never finish cleaning before I am in pension..." she muttured, beaten by the fact that she had to clean all by herself.

With all her bravery and determination, she rolled up her sleeves to start.

First, she pushed all books of the desk. She didn't see the single sheets of paper stuck between the books, which caused a huge chaos by pushing them away. But somehow, somewhere she had to begin. The desks were the most important places to start cleaning, because she could put things on them later, without messing them up. As the books dropped a giant cloud of dust greeted Rachel's nose. Of course she inhaled it and had to cough loudly.  
She felt dust from the last year floating inside her lungs. How disgusting. Was the office from yesterday only a dream? Apparently she had been way too excited to notice the chaos in the room. But why did she deserve a punishment like that? She hadn't done anything!

Rachel cursed silently under breath as she kept cleaning and tidying up. But slowly, after focusing on the chaos she had to get rid off, the curses became less and her concentration stronger. The feeling of being alone comforted her. Nodody could yell at ehr because she did something wrong.

And without noticing it, the hours passed. The afternoon sky slowly turned orange, dying Saffron City in a light orange color. The sunset wasn't far away anymore. And a clean office as well.

Rachel ducked as she crawled under the last desk, obviously Doctor Namba's desk since she found most of the papers hidden under it. Assuming from the ripped and crumbled codition of the documents it was trash. Rachel collected and threw them all into a blue trash bag. Her hair was a mess, her mood at the lowest point possible, and her headache had turned out as the grandmother of all headaches.  
Her concentration decreased every second and she simply worked like a machine. No thoughts came up in her mind, she couldn't even think anymore. Rachel was so tired.  
Out of the sudden, she shrugged. The edge of the sheet was as sharp as a razor and cut into her flesh of her index finger.

"Ow..." mumbled Rachel, though she couldn't feel any pain.

"It seems that you haven't destroyed the office yet."

The shock of hearing Wendy's voice out of all sudden surprised Rachel a lot. She hit her head on the desk plate with full force when she tried to jump up to her feet, unfortunately, she had forgotten that she was sitting under it to clean. Carefully, she crawled out of her hideout and got up to her feet while rubbing her injured head.

Wendy looked around, quite impressed how clean it was. The books were all in order, all packed in the shelves. The documents all in folders or in the drawers. There wasn't a single paper lying on the floor anymore. What a rare view Wendy could enjoy. She let out a fake laugh and walked straight towards the young woman. "Well, not bad. I guess you are at least useful for cleaning." She earned a tired and exhausted smile from Rachel before she handed her a brown envelope. "Here, your contract. Don't forget, you can't refuse as long as you don't want to be locked away in our basement."  
Rachel stared at it in disbelief, but grabbed the envelope as the last part of the sentence hit her. Hastily, she reached out for a pencil and dropped the container with the pens and pencils. Her nervousness was appearing again, which made Wendy face-palm her own forehead.

Rachel quickly wrote her name on the last of the three sheets and handed them to Wendy.

"I still can't believe they accepted you so fast. When I told them the story they were laughing at me," Wendy mumbled more to herself.

"They?"

"I mean the higher-ranked people in the organization. It is none of your business. And now...get rid of the trash back before you thinking of relaxing," the green-haired secretary told her. She spoke in a kind of harsh tone, but with satisfication in her voice.

Rachel's eyes shined in a bright light. She had survived her first day of work. After a short nod, the woman dashed out of the office with the blue trash bag in her hand. She threw it into the broom closet where all trash bags were kept, and headed for her room now. She couldn't wait until she could jump on her bed and do nothing, just sleeping.  
The rooms of the Rocket members were in the higher floors and only reachable by taking a different lift. It was a lift attached on the outside of the building. The glass fronts allowed an amazing view of the city and the was a beautiful view. How much Rachel only wished to see this every day. Literally, she had this view from now on every day, even if she had to vomit by seeing it.

The lift stopped and Rachel left while yawning. She stretched her tired limbs and went straight to the door to her room. Shortly after she entered, her eyes grew wide in surprise.

There was a suitcase on her bed. It was her own one which she had used for so many moves through and across the regions. And she found her personal stuff on her tiny wall untis, like her mirror and her bath stuff. Happiness crossed Rachel's face and a big grin grew on her lips, until...

"Wait...they broke into my apartment..." Rachel mumbled, still a little scared, but happy.

Maybe she didn't feel so strange in her new job. At least she had her personal things and her clothes back. And she had a new job, an apartment with a great view.

* * *

**Sorry for the late update. I was working on the last part for actually a long time and couldn't decide how the chapter should end.  
Well, I just say poor Rachel *cough* not really *cough* but someone has to do the assistant's job. I know the feeling when everyone is glaring at you as if you did something very bad.  
**

**Anyways, please leave a review and tell me what you think :D**


	3. Strawberry Week

**Warning: this chapter contains...danger. I will give it an own rating...something between T and M. Women will understand me! It is a warning for kids and male readers! Please, this is a topic every woman has to deal with in her life. I know men can't handle this topic well and would rather die than experience the 'strawberry week'  
Please, if you think it is too much for you, stopp reading! I don't want to be responsible for you guys losing your consciousness!**

**Another warning: If your girlfriend ever has her...strawberry week...just don't get on her nerves. Treat her like a princess, like a queen...if you want to live a happy life.  
Don't forget. happy waifu happy laifu  
**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Strawberry Week**

"I hate my life..." pouted Rachel and slammed the door of her bathroom shut. One week after her first day of work another surprise... surprised her. It was bad enough that her reputation didn't grow in the way she wanted. Instead, she messed up more things than before. Yesterday, she had accidentally dropped some papers, which were quite important and so Wendy had to bring them in order again. Just to mention it, she wasn't very pleased.  
The day before yesterday, Rachel had deleted all files of this year. She simply had to print out some documents and bills, but instead she had deleted them. But the icing of the cake was, how she brought all lab coats to the laundry and accidentally threw one piece of her own clothes into the same washing machine like the lab coats were in. It was her favorite red top.

A red top. With white lab coats... Some of you might have noticed something. But the rest of you, pay attention. Red and white clothes in the same washing machine!

Let's just say the coats looked somewhat stylish...in pink. At least in Rachel's opinion.

But now, Rachel knew she would mess up this week as well. She only saw red, a deeper red than the nice top had, which has kept its original color luckily. "Shit..." she mumbled, "Strawberry Week."

Rachel growled and dug in her drawers to search for the 'protectors' of all women. Nothing. Nada. Team Rocket had brought her all of her clothes and personal stuff, but didn't allow her to leave the building for a single day to buy some very necessary things. She wouldn't even run away. She just needed to buy something. But the chaos was planned, this would be her worst days ever.  
While gritting her teeth, she left her room to get to work. Rage was boiling in her veins and she wanted to hurt someone so badly. Someone. Anyone. Someone who would cross her way. Quickly, she slipped into the lift and pressed the button for the fifteenth floor. Her weight felt like it was comming off her hips but then, it pushed her down as the lift stopped. Another reason to hurt the next person seeing her. Who would dare to stopp the lift now?

It was fate that Doctor Zager entered the lift, also to his way to work. Rachel gulped and buried her plans to hurt the next person who would cross her way somewhere deep inside her mind. "Good morning," he greeted Rachel.

"Mornin..." Rachel stammered, at the same time hissed. Slowly, her gaze wandered to his coat, it was still white like snow. Zager must have used another washing machine, because his clothes still had their original colors.

Zager looked over the rim of his monocle, he only threw a short glance at the angry Rachel next to him. "Are you alright? Don't you feel well? Are feeling you sick?" he asked her with caution.

"I don't know. Somehow my belly hurts, my back as well. It feels like someone stabs me with a dagger, or a bomb is exploding in my guts...then a headache is bothering me since last night and I could just scream in pain now," Rachel reported and stretched her back, but remained smiling. Somehow, she was breathing heavily, trying to forget her anger.

Doctor Zager nodded at every single detail of her pain, and suddenly, he stepped aside. The fact of her problem hit him like a stone and he violated the button for the next floor. He needed to get out of this shark cage! It was literally a shark cage, but this time the shark, Rachel, was inside as well."Oh, I f-forgot something..." As the door opened Doctor Zager rushed outside and hastily went away, rather stumbled away.

Rachel simply sighed in relief and put her hands on her belly as she leaned her back on the elevator wall. And suddenly, in that peaceful silence the lift stopped again. With bloodshot eyes and like a hungry lion she glared at the grunt who entered. Her look literally said 'get out or you're dead' and chased him out of the lift again. It was her own territory! How did he dare coming into her territory!  
The next stop was the right floor for her to leave the lift. Rachel went straight to Wendy's office to ask her for some help and necessary things. Wendy was a woman and she would definitely understand her. And as she entered her mood dropped to minus fifty on her scale. No Wendy. And no coffee she actually had to collect. So, there was only place where Wendy could be, Rachel's door to hell, the office of the professors.

And she actually went to enter the hell's office. Right before the door, she remained silent. Was that really necessary to face her greatest enemies now? Yes, it was. She had to ask Wendy for some help.

"Good morn..." Rachel said as she walked through the door, but got cut off.

"You're late. We had expected you sooner today," Professor Sebastian greeted her in a way that Rachel made her want to leave the office straight away(and leave a bomb within the office). But the first fact that jumped in her eye and made her grin was a shining pink. Somewhat, she felt a bit better today. She also noticed Doctor Namba sitting on his desk with crossed arms, to hide at least a part of his new lab coat. In pink.

With a sigh, Rachel took a step toward her supervisor and glared at him, rather unimpressed by his slight anger. "Sorry, but it I had some problems to deal with in the morning," she explained in a sharp voice, competing with Sebastian in 'who will win the hissing contest'. Another glance around and Rachel found her last hope standing in the corner and watching their little fight with curiosity. "Oh, thank god. I'm sorry to ask you but..." she paused and went to Wendy, completely ignoring the scientist who crossed his arms over his chest now, "I need your help." With her hands folded, she blinked and smiled at Wendy, hoping to get help.

"Say. What do you need?" Wendy asked her, still a little annoyance in her voice.

"Well...eh...you know... there is...something bothering...and you know..." Rachel stuttered, apparently unable to find the right words.

"Know what? Do you... Oh." Wendy's eyes opened in surprise as she noticed Rachel's odd and forced grin. As response, the brown-haired woman nodded rapidly. "I will find something, wait here."

Rachel sighed. "Thank you, you're a lifesaver." The one and only good thing was that Wendy was a woman as well, she understood her feelings and problems. And all women have to support each other.

"If there is a problem then you can enlighten us. Maybe there is a way to help you. If you feel sick, then you should stay in your room," hissed the professor. It sounded like a threat or an order for Rachel to stay away from the scientists.

Her muscles cramped and she felt the blood rushing into her cheeks. Seriously, how could she possibly explain her problems with a straight face, without blushing or stuttering. But she did her best to keep her coolness. "Well, I am not really sick...but... I always feel kind of sick when... Aunt Emma is visiting me," she said, using her hands and waving with them calmly as if it was something so natural to explain.

"Aunt Emma is visiting you?" asked Doctor Namba in disbelief. "How come your aunt got past the security system?!"

If there was the perfect moment for a giant face-palm, that would be it. Rachel felt ashamed. "Well, my Aunt Emma...she is not really a person. In other words...right now, I am closed for maintenance." She earned more confused gazes from her colleagues. "It is high tide for me!" she said more energetic than before.

Professor Sebastian suddenly shrugged and bit back a grin. Apparently, he did understand Rachel now. Only the other professor wouldn't get allusion, though it was so obvious.

"How can it be high tide? There is not even water around us!" Namba pouted, feeling a little insulted, but the truth was he felt silly for not understanding it. Meanwhile, he also noticed how Sebastian grinned at him.

"Well, it is my time of the month and always in that time my Aunt Emma visits me." Rachel nearly cried.

"And you don't like your aunt?" Doctor Namba asked.

It was the point where even Professor Sebastian started chuckling, though he tried to suppress it. "Namba, she is a woman..."

Still, Namba didn't get the hints and he looked at his colleague with confusion in his eyes. "What does that have to do with her aunt?"

"It is strawberry week! Damn it!" Rachel shouted. Shortly after, she covered her mouth with her hands as she noticed how the scientists looked at her, and as well Wendy and Doctor Zager who had just entered the office. All of them had heard her yelling and Rachel felt so ashamed. Ashamed of herself. But in reality she was simply shocked how long it took for the scientists to understand her. Wasn't it obvious? How long did the professors study and work to get to their current positions? Five years? Seven years? Ten years? And yet, they didn't understand simple human or female anatomy. Every child learns about this in school! But Rachel wasn't dealing with children, she had to deal with head scientists. Scientists who had studied biology! But right now, she couldn't even take them serious due to their new lab coats. She couldn't find any respect for them.

Wendy chuckled but caught her cool again by biting her tongue. "Rachel, you should keep your personal issues for yourself," she suggested, making Rachel blush in the deepest shades of red. "Here." She gave her a plastic bag and went to one of the desk to collect some papers.

"T...thanks..." Rachel mumbled and rushed out of the office.

The scientists had to snicker slightly, but suddenly noticed Namba's quiet expression and how he played with a pen nervously. "Namba, don't tell me you still haven't got it," Sebastian asked with a chuckle in his voice.

"Got what?" the doctor asked.

Slowly, Professor Sebastian, Wendy and Doctor Zager shook their heads in disappointment, until they went to leave the office together. Wendy left to do some paperwork in her own office, and Zager and Sebastian to do some research in the labs.

* * *

"How are you feeling?" Wendy asked as she entered the office with a heap of papers in her hand.

Rachel let out a heavy sigh. "Better. Thank you for your help, you're my lifesaver," she said and turned back to her paperwork, though she didn't really understand it. All she had to do was signing some documents, some permission documents and letters for other bases. Oh well, Wendy had to told her to sign them, so Rachel did what she was told. She felt a little like a dog with no rights, just with the duty to bring back a stick someone would throw eventually.

"Hey, Rachel, you need to do me a favor." Wendy suddenly said and put her pen aside. "Have you ever been to the main conference room?" she asked, without waiting for an answer. "You need to get the papers from there. I found some mistakes in the documents and I really need to correct them for our higher-ranked members. Otherwise, it would be embarrassing."

"Of course," Rachel replied, shrugging her shoulders.

With a loud sigh, Wendy finally smiled. "Oh, thank you. You're _my_ lifesaver. It is so much easier, if you have someone around who helps. Before you came to us it was horrible, I just heard the words 'Wendy, get me some coffee. Wendy, bring me those documents. Wendy, go out in that blizzard for a doughnut!'," Wendy murmured angrily, imitating her superiors.

Rachel chuckled silently and imagined Wendy's misery. How entertaining.

"Okay, the conference room is in the top floor. The big door on the left," the green-haired secretary explained. "Here, you need the keys, oh, and put those documents somewhere on the tables. I will take care of them later." In a swift move, she threw a heavy key chain to the new employee and also handed her an extremely heavy pile of white papers. "Thanks again, Carol."

"It's Rachel," Rachel exclaimed.

"Yeah, whatever." Wendy simply winked.

Slowly, Rachel left the office and tried not to drop the paper pile. It rather looked like she was juggling how she held the pile and how she ran when the papers were about to spread out in the hallway. Only because the pile was so big that she couldn't see anything. One normal Rocket grunt nearly crashed into her but hopped aside in a wink of an eye. She didn't even see him coming around the corner. But somehow she found the way to the lift. The weight of the papers pushed her down even more as the lift took her a few floors higher. When she had reached the highest floor, the doors opened with a sound signal, and Rachel stepped out. "Okay...the door...on the right, was it?" she mumbled to herself and stumbled along the corridor until she saw a huge door right before her. With only her elbow she pushed the door handle down and pushed the heavy door open with her back. To her surprise, it was unlocked.

A fresh and icy wind suddenly greeted her and the door fell shut again. A few papers flew away and fled in the wind. "Oh...wrong door," Rachel said as she found herself on the rooftop of the building. Apparentely, she had chosen the wrong door. That was obviously not the conference room. Carefully, Rachel leaned the pile in her right arm and got the key chain Wendy had given her.  
In the moment she turned around and tried to open the door with her keys again, she suddenly noticed something.

The door had no keyhole. Neither a doorh andle. Nothing to unlock it again.

It took a few seconds until Rachel understood her current situation. Still, with the keys in her hand, she stared at the keyhole that wasn't there.

"Oh crap..."

And it took another minute for her until the expected reaction came. "Oh no, no...no, no, no!" Rachel shouted and hammered against the door with her hand. She put the papers down and hammered against the heavy metallic door, that separated from the inside corridor. "Hell no! I can't believe it! This can't be happening!" Rachel screamed, rammed her fist against the metal, and dropped to her knees. "Okay, calm down, Rachel. It could have come worse...just think of a plan, a solution for your problem..." she stuttered. "Let's count all facts . I am locked out of the building, to be exact, I am sitting on the roof without anyone knowing it. I can't open that freaking door... and no one will come to help me..." Suddenly her eyes became wide and teary.

In the same time in one of the offices:

"Namba, stop it now. We finished this topic," Sebastian hissed under his breath.

"But what in the name of Lugia were they talking ab-" Something strange interrupted Doctor Namba and his thoughts. Something that sounded like a loud scream. Like a person, who shouted at the top of their lungs. And it sounded like a long and loud 'Help'. Namba looked up, but found nothing in the office that could have possibly made such noise. "Did you hear that?" he asked his colleagues.

Doctor Zager raised his gaze from the documents he was reading. "Heard what?"

"Nothing... perhaps it was my imagination," the tiny man mumbled.

* * *

About two later, the atmosphere in the office hadn't changed a bit. There was still that sick will to work in the air. Professor Sebastian, Doctor Namba, and Doctor Zager worked quietly on their computers, calculating things and throwing some numbers together no one else was able to understand. The only noises came from the keyboards and how the scientists hit them continiously.

Suddenly, the door to their office opened and Wendy entered hastily.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your work..."

"You should be," Namba stated, receiving a threatening glare from Zager.

There was a moment of hesitance in Wendy's words. "Have you seen Rachel somewhere? I can't find her," she told them.

"And this is the reason why you came in?" Sebastian asked, not letting his gaze off the computer screen. "Where have you seen her the last time?"

"I asked her to do me a favour, but now, I can't find her anymore. I looked for her in the whole building and I thought that perhaps Rachel could be around here," Wendy tried to explain. Slowly, a bothering feeling crawled up her stomach to her throat.

"Here? To do what? Destroy our equipment and the rest of our laboratory?" Sebastian hissed.

There was a silent gulp audible and Wendy wiped the sweat drops off her forehead. "Ye... I mean no. However, I am quite worried. I hope I can find her..."

"If we see her, we will let her know about your worries." This time it was Doctor Zager, who interrupted her, but with more kindness in his voice. Though, it was only a little more kindness. Wendy bowed respectfully and left without another word, still having some bad, inner thoughts about Rachel's sudden disappearance. In the exact next moment, when the door closed, Doctor Zager spoke out Wendy's reasoned worries but also brought up new theories about her. "Perhaps the girl got lost. It happens to nearly every new employee here. There is no reason for Wendy to be concerned."

"Except if that clumsy woman ran away from Team Rocket. Then she should be worried..." Namba ended, without taking his eyes off his computer screen.

Only a second later a horribly awkward silence remained in the office. All three of the scientists raised their heads and shared the same shocked look.

"She wouldn't... would she?" Namba asked.

* * *

**Okay, I hope it was okay for u :)  
Yep, I got the idea for Aunt Emma Irma and the other descriptions from The IT-Crowd. Please don't hate me for that. And please don't hate me for writing about it! And I know... sorry for the cliffhanger. I hope I can update the next chapter soon.  
**

**Disclaimer: Team Rocket and Pokemon belong to Nintendo!  
And I don't own The IT-Crowd!**


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